The Querfurts are free lords of the Hassegau with the old castle of Querfurt, and for generations the burgraves of Magdeburg, holding the archbishop's high court in the city.
Gebhard IV is one of Philip's men in the north-east, and his brother Conrad is Philip's chancellor, bishop of Würzburg, and the man excommunicated for clinging to Hildesheim. Their cousins and later branches hold Schraplau and Vitzenburg, and in 1229 they inherit Mansfeld.
Who he is
- Name
- Gebhard IV of Querfurt
- Title
- Lord of Querfurt; burgrave of Magdeburg
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Son of Burgrave Burchard II of Querfurt and Matilda of Gleichen; brother of Conrad of Querfurt, bishop of Würzburg and Philip's chancellor (murdered 3 December 1202).
- Confidence
- medium
Gebhard IV as burgrave of Magdeburg in Philip's circle from the Residenzen-Kommission entry on Philip; parentage from en.wikipedia (Conrad of Querfurt).
Overlord
The archbishop of Magdeburg for the burgraviate; Querfurt is the family's own lordship.
What it holds
- Querfurt castle and lordship
- The burgraviate of Magdeburg (high justice in the city for the archbishop)
- Schraplau (branch; date not pinned)
How it was acquired
Inherited.
Allies and rivals
Philip, Archbishop Ludolf, Bishop Conrad of Würzburg.
How things stand that morning
Gebhard is with Philip's party; very likely at or near the Magdeburg Christmas court as the city's burgrave.
Wealth
Lordship rents; the burgrave's court dues at Magdeburg.
Military
Querfurt castle, one of the largest in Saxony. No figures.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1201 (not yet)Conrad of Querfurt, absolved, is restored to Würzburg by the pope and later turns towards Otto; he is murdered on 3 December 1202.Depends on: Papal settlement of Conrad's case. Stopped by: Conrad refusing to submit.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Office and side attested; dates of Gebhard's tenure not reached.
Primary sources for Empire
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Marbach (compiled to 1238, the section on 1198 to 1210 written in the early 13th century). Alsatian annals on the Staufen side of the Upper Rhine. Read online
- Annals of Reiner of Saint James, Liège, Reiner of Liège (1197 to 1230, kept year by year). Contemporary annals kept inside Liège. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. Read online
- Chronicle of Reinhardsbrunn; Chronicle of St Peter's, Erfurt (Erfurt chronicle in the 13th century; Reinhardsbrunn compilation about 1340 to 1349 from older annals). The two Thuringian chronicles. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- Royal Chronicle of Cologne (in stages from about 1175 to about 1250; the section on 1198 to 1220 written soon after the events). The fullest German narrative of the throne war from the Welf and Cologne side. Read online
- Chronicle of Hainaut, Gislebert of Mons (about 1195 to 1196). Ends in 1195, so it has no 1200 entries, but it is the indispensable background for Flanders and Hainaut: the career of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut (VIII of Flanders), his union of the two counties, the settlement with Philip over Artois, the rights, castles, fiefs and vassals of Hainaut listed by a man who ran its chancery, and the youth of Baldwin IX, who held both counties in 1200. Read online
8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
- Höfe und Residenzen: Philipp
- Conrad of Querfurt, en.wikipedia
- Querfurt (Adelsgeschlecht), de.wikipedia
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.